Texarkana to soon be down to one Dallas flight a day
TEXARKANA. Ark. — The number of commercial flights from Texarkana Regional Airport to Dallas will get worse before it gets better.
But it will eventually get better Texarkana Regional Airport Director Paul Mehrlich believes.
Mehrlich told Airport Authority Board members Tuesday that the number of daily flights, which dropped down to two earlier this spring, will now drop down to one a day next month.
The lone flight will take off at 11:30 a.m. and return to Texarkana Regional at 7:30 p.m. each day until the end of June.
Mehrlich added that American Airlines officials believe commercial passenger traffic may pick up enough before mid-summer to allow the airport to re-instate all four of its passenger flights to and from Dallas.
Such a comeback would be welcomed. The airport has experienced a 92% drop in commercial passenger traffic that started before March and is still in progress, according statistics released to the board members during their meeting. This drastic drop in passenger business lead to the drop in flights — down from four at the start of this year.
“Up until now, we have just had two flights each day running at about 10% passenger capacity per plane,” Mehrlich said.
In other business, Mehrlich told board members that he’s drawn down $220,000 from the$1.15 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds the airport received from the federal government last month. The money is being used mainly to cover and protect the airport’s payroll. He added that plans still exist to start work on the new passenger terminal next year.
Mehrlich also told board members that of all the airlines still solvent and in business, Southwest Airlines appears the be the strongest with the least amount of debt, and American Airlines, the one the airport uses, has no plans to file for bankruptcy.